Category: People Matter (Page 9 of 9)

It's an interesting question isn't! What is initiative? Can you train people to have initiative? Can a person be held accountable for not displaying initiative? Does the culture of your company breed initiative?

An old philosopher Albert Hubbard says this "THE WORLD BESTOWS ITS BIG PRIZES, both in money and honors, for but one thing. And that is Initiative. What is Initiative? I'll tell you: It is doing the right thing without being told"

Hubbard tells the story Andrew Rowan said to the President,

"There is a fellow by the name of Rowan will find Garcia for you, if anybody can."

Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How "the fellow by name of Rowan" took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and having delivered his letter to Garcia-are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.

The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, "Where is he at?"

Garica wasn't told how to act, or where to look, who to contact, he just took the letter set out and made the right thing happen. Read the whole story if you have time.

Seth Godin calls it being a torchbearer and says this

Now, I'm not talking about working hard, or being dedicated, or putting your mission first. Being a torchbearer has nothing to do with how late you work at night, or whether you give your cell-phone number to your boss. No, I'm talking about the people with that rare skill, the ability to dig deep when the need arises — to get past the short-term pain and to pull off an act that few would have believed possible. In the new economy, people are doing things that have never been done before. Faced with the unprecedented, in an environment that's unstable, many people say, "It can't be done." The torchbearer is the one who does it.

I love Hubbard's quote. I think initiative is doing the right thing without being told. I think training helps, culture is important, accountability is paramount and these things can help people fell comfortable with taking initiative. I also think some people have been trained their whole lives to lack initiative and they must now retrain. Eventually it comes back to a readiness and ability to initiate action, the right action. Ultimately it comes back to the individuals deep resolve to do the right thing every single time. If that desire is not there they will never carry the torch across the finish line nor find Garica.

Initiative is doing the right thing without being told.

Starbucks is a rip off! $5.60 for a below average Mocha which pails in comparison to the Macho you get at "The Naked Grape". The Grapes' Mocha costs less, is interactive (yes, I say interactive) and tastes awesome! I sit at a table on the outside corner of Starbucks at Bayfair so I can read and watch the world go by, while I wait on Karina.

As I start to read I hear the family two tables back from me are speaking Spanish. I think of Costa Rica again, and this is the fourth circumstance that has reminded about it in the last week. I wonder if Costa Rica is beckoning me or if it is just like noticing a certain colour and make of car, merely because a friend has just brought one.

I intermittently read my book, sip on a bad mocha and watch people. I love watching, learning and contemplating people. Here are a few of my decidedly unscientific observations:

• Men either go to the mall alone or with their partner, NOT with other men. Kind of makes sense I don't recall ever ringing Robbie or Alf and asking if they want to go shopping with me. Thinking I should do this one day as it could be hugely entertaining.
• Teenage boys go in packs of 2 or 3. They are at the mall for two reasons only, girls or food. Shopping is not on their mind, if it were they would shop alone or secretly with their mums.
• Almost all of the people I saw texting were alone, I only saw one person texting who was not alone and that person was obviously with her mum.
• Older women dress to make themselves appear young, while the teenage women dress to make themselves appear old.

As I considered what my eyes were telling me, I thought about how we are relational beings, people made to interact with other relational beings, then this morning I finished 'Through Painted Deserts'. One of the few profound lines in Don's book says "Relationships between people indicate something of the nature of God – that he is relational, that he feels love and loss."  – an intriguing thought.

I yearned to go sailing yesterday. I knew I wouldn’t get the opportunity, but I longed for the silence and solitude of sailing 'the way a man holds the woman he has while thinking of the woman he loves'.  I had been graciously given a day to clear my head, so I headed for Tauranga for the fresh sea breeze, for the beautiful beaches and ocean. I headed for the next best thing to sailing. Tauranga is home for me, a place of rest and many memories. My plan was to systematically and rationally work through all the decisions before me. There was no-one I planned to see, or talk to. That was my plan…

My first appointment came when I entered a little independent bookstore. I had been there many times before, many years ago. It’s one of those quaint bookstores that has wall to wall books, it’s hard to really know where to start looking without the help of the staff. I walked in and was greeted with a huge “Mr Nicol, great to see you!” The owner bounces out from behind the counter and I’m greeted with a huge handshake. It’s been 16 years I work out later, and he still remembers my name, and he remembers that I struggled with reading. I joyously tell him I devour books now. We chat a while and he leads me to the book I am looking for. He then tells me about a book that is going to become huge “For men only”. I buy both, shake my old friends hand, and leave.

I now resolved to read “for men only” that day. I know I have choices to make, and hope the book will clarify my course. I head for the top of the Mount, and read for an hour or so, then head down past the cafés. As I walk past I am actually watching the way the guys are interacting with the females. How many are actually listening, how many are just present in body. Then I notice Greig and Jo. My second appointment!

My third appointment was with a hairdresser for a very complex haircut (#1 clipper cut). She talked about how much she hated work, and she was thinking of moving back to Hamilton (why would you?) to work where she had worked in the past. She really said (even though she didn’t know it) that she longed to work at a place like Agoge. How lucky am I to work there!

My forth appointment was with my folks (I needed a cup of tea and a chat). My fifth appointment was with my wife, for a long chat about my day and head space.

It was an intriguing day to be sure. I read the book, walked on the beach, drank coffee, took photos, listened to music and thoughts heaps. What struck me the most was the appointments I hadn’t planned. They were appointments made for me. Sometimes I think we are just too busy or self absorbed to see these appointments, but they are there all the same. I do a lot of planning and make heaps of appointments from week to week.

I wonder how many appointments I miss because of them?